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Connected Hearts - Cost of Beauty is a Hidden Object Adventure game from the Domini Games studio.  I have been playing the Collector's Edition version of the game which comes bundled with a number of bonus elements to supplement the main game.  As usual with Domini Games titles, the Collector's Edition bonus items allow instant access to certain extra features while some other items require progress to be made in the main game before you are granted access to used them.

Played in a choice of four difficulty levels entitled Casual, Advanced, Hardcore or Casual, the game casts you in the role of an orphan called Cindy.  The name of your character might give you a clue as to where some of the inspiration for some elements of this title might be drawn.  When a step-daughter is being picked on by other female family members, including a wicked (actually a witch) step-mother while your only friend is a loyal family retainer and a fashionable dress ball is organised to find a prospective bride, you might find yourself thinking of Cinderella,  There are also other elements, including a pendant standing in for a glass slipper, to draw further inferences as your character sets out to rescue a father who is supposedly dead but has actually been bewitched.

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The usual arrangement of tools are presented across the bottom of the scenes featured in the game.  Mixed in with the familiar Journal (Notes and Tasks details), Map, Inventory, Strategy Guide and Hint tools, is an icon portraying your current character role as you seamlessly switch between being Cindy and Albert who is the mayor's son and a leading character.  A pop-out link on the left side of the screen will provide details of progress made regarding collecting shoes, witch hunter weapons and golden tickets that are classified as Collectibles in this title.  A similar pop-out feature on the right side of the screen will show the decisions you have made at various points during the game to affect its flow of subsequent incidents.

As you examine the game's various scenes, in your current role, you will receive further assistance.  The mouse cursor will change shape to indicate when different action are possible.  Included among these actions will be that of communicating with other characters.  You will often be given a choice of responses with regards your responses that will affect what could happen next.

As you follow the various clues leading you through elements of the story, you will encounter 26 mini game puzzles and 33 Hidden Object scenes with the latter being accompanied by an outbreak of sparkles.  In most cases the mini game puzzles will come with a choice of tackling an Easy or Hard version of the required task which could vary in type and style.  Occasionally a puzzle will be presented without a choice of difficulty and this usually happens with a really easy puzzle.  A Skip option will always be available with whatever type of puzzle.

Hidden Object game play will vary in both style and type.  You will need to find text lists of objects, match patterns with a similar instance in the scene or match highlighted words with the appropriate instance in an illustrated image.  Sometime you will need to collect items identified by riddles or place items in their correct position within the current scene.  If the Hidden Object type challenge does not appeal then you can take an option to switch to Match 3 game play and clear areas of a grid.

Maybe due a little to the game switching you between two different characters, this title felt as if it was made up of three different games that had been bolted together.  It felt disjointed and slightly disappointing in its appeal.  I downloaded my copy of this title from Gamehouse.com where it is priced at $19.99.  You can also download it from Big Fish Games where it is priced at £15.44.  The game requires a 2.0 GHz processor with 1024MB of RAM running Windows 7 and later.

Connected Hearts: Cost of Beauty Collector's Edition | Big Fish Games

Connected Hearts - Cost of Beauty Collector's Edition | GameHouse